LPS / Softy Tank Going Downhill - Need Advice

[NanoReef303]

Looking for some advice on next steps. I have a 20G tank that has been setup since May 2019, so about 9 months old now. Everything was going very well with the tank until the last 2 months or so. In December, I started noticing an increase in nuisance algae while at the same time a couple of LPS frags started not looking so well (ended up losing them). All my parameters seemed normal so I decided to switch out all of the filters in my RO/DI system except for the membrane. I only have a 20G tank and was doing a single 2-3g water change weekly, so it seemed a bit early to swap them out, but I did it anyways. I tested my RO/DI water with my Hanna Checker and it returned a 0.05ppm phosphate reading even though my TDS meter read 0.

So over the course of January I increased my weekly water change volume to 4g per week assuming I had let some containment in through my RO/DI water and cut back on my feedings. This was likely my major mistake. I maintained my once daily feeding for the fish and shrimp of a mix of pellets, flakes and freeze-dried brine, but mostly stopped my 2x per week coral spot feeding with a mix of forzen mysis and coral frenzy (mostly out of neglect / distracted with life).

So from December to today, my nitrates have dropped from 10ppm to 0ppm, and my phosphates have increased from 0.04ppm to 0.08ppm. During that time, my algae outbreak has worsened and my LPS are not looking very happy. I have GHA and what I think is Bryopsis covering all of the rock formations. I also have a thin slime-like coating on the GHA that I think might be dinos, but not sure. I've also noticed that I rarely need to clean my glass now. While I used to do that twice per week, it might need it once every other week now. One chalice is doing well and growing, 2 others are receding. One Leptoseris is doing well and growing, the other is in bad shape. My Bowerbanki, Leptastrea and Favia seem to be doing, but are not really growing. My Duncan was growing very fast and always fully extended, but over the past week it has not looked very happy.

I use Red Coral Pro and the only thing I dose is 1.5ml per day of Tropic Marin All-for-Reef. For filtration, I have filter floss in both overflows, 4 Chemipure Blue nano packets on one side, and MarinePure ceramic balls on the other side. I do weekly water changes and at the same time I replace the filter floss and swap in 1 new Chemipure blue packet.

The tank is currently inhabited by the following:
- A small pair of Orange Storm Clownfish that are doing well
- 2 skunk cleaner fish also doing well
- Astrea, Cerith and Nassarius CUC, though I've lost a couple of Astrea's recently
- Various LPS frags in various conditions from good to receding (Favia, Duncan, Leptoseris, Leptastrea, Bowerbanki, Chalice)
- Various Softy frags that all seem to be in good shape (Zoas, Green Nepthea, GSP)

My current parameters are as follows:
- Alkalinity (Salifert) = 8.9
- Calcium (Salifert) = 410
- Magnesium (Salifert) = 1290
- Nitrate (Salifert) = 0
- Phospate (Hanna low range) = 0.08ppm
- pH (Salifert) = 8, tested first thing in the morning, plus it's February in Colorado, so not much fresh air
- Salinity = 1.025

My first change is to increase my coral feedings as I think I'm starving them and I want to get my nitrates up. I plan to spot feed a mix of coral frenzy and frozen mysis 3x per week (I also mix in a couple of drops of Selcon). The next change will be to cut down on my weekly water change back to 2g per week as I appear to have removed all of my nitrates. I'm not sure how my phosphates increased over this time and my worry is that my algae problem is already out of control, so I'm not sure what my next step there should be. I'm wondering if I should start with just a bag of GFO in one overflow to remove phosphates while I increase feedings, or if I should go more aggressive and also use something like Vibrant or Reef Flux, or something else entirely? It's a mess, looking for any advice and thoughts.

Apologies for the short novel, wanted to make sure I supplied any relevant details. Thank you in advance.

 

[45ZoaGarden]

I think your nutrients are too low for an lps softie system. I run my phosphates at .15 and nitrates at 20 ppm

 

[45ZoaGarden]

It’s probably better to get a better cuc to take care of the algae and up the nutrients

 

[Big G]

You are still going through the "new tank uglies" phases. Can take a year or more to get the tank's unique bio balance settled.
What kind of sand and how does it look to you?

 

[NanoReef303]

Yeah, my first order of business was to get my nitrates back up to at least 10 as everything seemed to be doing better at those levels. I used CaribSea Arag-Alive Special Grade reef sand at the beginning, maybe an inch or so. The sand is actually fairly clean, the rock work has all the algae.

 

[NanoReef303]

So my plan of attack is as follows:
- Stop weekly water changes until I get my nitrates back up to 10ppm
- Increase feedings of Coral Frenzy to daily to increase my Nitrates
- Have some Seachem PhosNet on hand to manage phosphates if needed since they are already at 0.08ppm
- Manually deal with the Bryopsis and GHA in the meantime
- Once Nitrates are at 10ppm, apply ReefHD Reef Flux to manage the Bryopsis issue, which I’m guessing will also likely increase Nitrates and Phosphates as they’re released back into the water

Seems like the best path to (1) making the LPS happy while dealing with the dino (ie raiding nitrates) and then (2) dealing with the Bryopsis and GHA.

 

[Paleozoic_reefer]

Sounds like a solid plan. Just make sure you take it slow. Your tank is still very new and you need to let it find a balance between your LPS, live rock, and nutrient export methods. Don't get discouraged if you don't see a 180 degree change in a month or two. Finding a perfect balance of nitrates and phosphates and no algae outbreaks is tricky....but you can do it!!

 

[NanoReef303]

Sounds like a solid plan. Just make sure you take it slow. Your tank is still very new and you need to let it find a balance between your LPS, live rock, and nutrient export methods. Don't get discouraged if you don't see a 180 degree change in a month or two. Finding a perfect balance of nitrates and phosphates and no algae outbreaks is tricky....but you can do it!!

Yeah, for sure. Increasing my water changes from the usual routine and bottoming out my nitrates is where I went wrong. I’ve been very hands-off so far with various algae outbreaks, but the Bryopsis is out of control. Still not sure how my phosphates didn’t bottom out.

 

[45ZoaGarden]

I would throw some Dino x in there for the dinos. Then hit the tank with a beast of a cuc for algae

 

[Natescorals]

If you have 2 cleaner shrimp in your 20 gallon tank that can also be an issue when your doing your coral feedings. I had the same problem and I thought it was my parameters but it was actually the cleaner shrimp that caused the problems. It tore flesh from mu hammer coral and my GSP. Now that the shrimp is gone it’s slowly starting to recover. I haven’t moved anything or changed anything. Stick to my regular routine like every one said. Doing bigger water changes and increasing or decreasing will only shock and bother the corals. Corals love stable environments where things just stay the same

 

[Natescorals]

Corals hate cleaner shrimp stealing food from them. Walking all over them and constantly picking at them. I’m sure it happens. It’s just hard to catch If your not staring at the tank 24/7.

 

[NanoReef303]

Thank you for the additional thoughts.

Once I’m clear of Dino, I’ll beef up my CUC. I haven’t added any new members since my original crew post cycle and I’ve lost 3 of the 4 Astrea I had. The Ceriths and Nassarius seem to be holding on. I’ll probably try a couple of emerald crabs and maybe some short term turbo snail rentals.

Regarding the cleaner shrimp, I don’t think they’re the cause but they are very annoying during feedings. I have to fight them back with the feeding pipette until the corals have taken all their food in which is getting very annoying. I’ve been thinking of trading them back in to the LFS. I haven’t yet because I like the looks of them and they’re currently 50% of my livestock. I might do that and replace them with some other invert, will need to re

 

[Natescorals]

With only 2 clowns you don’t really need a large clean up crew. I don’t know why you would need one? How much are you feeding the clowns?

 

[NanoReef303]

With only 2 clowns you don’t really need a large clean up crew. I don’t know why you would need one? How much are you feeding the clowns?

I didn’t originally think so but I’m inundated with Bryopsis and GHA. I know the CUC won’t touch the Bryopsis. I feed the fish once per day. Usually they get a pinch of small pellets and a small pinch of either flakes or freeze dried brine. About once a week I substitute frozen mysis in selcon. My nitrates bottomed out at 0 but my phosphates still somehow stayed up around 0.08ppm. Previously, before I changed my water change routine, I was averaging 10ppm nitrate pretty consistently, so never really had a high nutrient problem for an LPS/softy tank. If anything, I’ve had to work to keep nitrates up.

 

[BeejReef]

I'm only a couple months older than u.
Sounds like you're taking a very rational and incremental approach to me.

Tank chemistry hasn't seen any huge swings. Maybe nitrate a touch low. Would bet your increased feedings will sort that.
A lot of firsts in the first year. Check little things. Are the lenses on your light clean or salt encrusted? Have you kept up with powerhead and return pump cleanings? Flow can fall off a lot.

 

[Natescorals]

I didn’t originally think so but I’m inundated with Bryopsis and GHA. I know the CUC won’t touch the Bryopsis. I feed the fish once per day. Usually they get a pinch of small pellets and a small pinch of either flakes or freeze dried brine. About once a week I substitute frozen mysis in selcon. My nitrates bottomed out at 0 but my phosphates still somehow stayed up around 0.08ppm. Previously, before I changed my water change routine, I was averaging 10ppm nitrate pretty consistently, so never really had a high nutrient problem for an LPS/softy tank. If anything, I’ve had to work to keep nitrates up.

Are your white lights up high? How long do you keep your whites on and what intensity? Whites can fuel algae growth too? Are you getting flow in all areas of the tank? Good flow will also help prevent it

 

[Natescorals]

Also with a big clean up crew in a small tank is hard because if something happens and they decide to die then you get ammonia spikes and bacterial blooms and stuff like that. As well as all the little critters constantly walking all over and disturbing the corals. All I have in my 20 gallon is 2 hermit crabs and 1 trochus snail. Even one snail dying in a tank that small will cause ammonia and bacterial blooms

 

[Natescorals]

If you feed the clowns a tiny little bit of food and make sure no food gets left behind. And only spot feed the corals. Making sure nothing falls or gets left behind then you can also reduce algae growth that way. The excess nutrients floating around usually always causes big problems then you only have to worry about filtering the fish poop. And everything stays healthy and fed as well as inhabitants being able to enjoy clean water.

 

[Natescorals]

I didn’t originally think so but I’m inundated with Bryopsis and GHA. I know the CUC won’t touch the Bryopsis. I feed the fish once per day. Usually they get a pinch of small pellets and a small pinch of either flakes or freeze dried brine. About once a week I substitute frozen mysis in selcon. My nitrates bottomed out at 0 but my phosphates still somehow stayed up around 0.08ppm. Previously, before I changed my water change routine, I was averaging 10ppm nitrate pretty consistently, so never really had a high nutrient problem for an LPS/softy tank. If anything, I’ve had to work to keep nitrates up.

See if you can gently remove the algae yourself. Suck up with a turkey baster and blow off detritus. And algae off the rocks on a water change day and just try to manually clean it instead on fully relying on clean up crews. Then once you blow It into water column take a small net to take it out.

 

[Calpoly2103]

Dino's are tough...they thrive in low nutrient environments, however you don't want to mess with your chemistry too much. Dino X & Hydrogen Peroxide didn't work for me. The only thing that worked for me was everyday to use a long feeder syringe and loosen up the Dino's off rocks & sand & coral and let them flow into my overflows and be trapped by the filter floss. I would immediately remove and replace the filterfloss. Doing this EVERYDAY for about 2 weeks should decrease the amount of Dino's reproducing in your tank. In the meantime, I would continue to diversify the good bacteria in your tank by adding some live rock or those spheres that some LFS stores sell. You want your good bacteria to take back over.

I didn't like adding the Dino X, because although its "coral safe" it killed all the coraline, and likely killed a lot of other beneficial bacteria. It worked for a little bit for me, but until i started doing daily cleaning and replacing the floss it was still constant.